Numsa, the country’s largest union, has signed a multi-term above-inflation wage deal with five employers in the country’s multi billion-rand plastics sector, which is set to be extended to nonparties in a sector employing about 34,000 workers nationally.
The wage agreement would see workers getting pay increases of 7% effective July 1, a 6% increase effective July 2026 and another 6% increase from July 2027. The inflation rate slightly increased from the 2.7% recorded in March to 2.8% in April.
Department of trade, industry and competition data shows there are about 1,800 plastics companies countrywide with the sector directly contributing about R68bn to GDP.
The leading markets for plastics are in packaging, building, agriculture, construction and the automotive industries. Other industries that use some form of plastic include textile, electrical, electronic, mechanical engineering and agriculture.
The wage talks began on April 10 with the offer to unions — including Numsa, National Union of Mineworkers, Uasa, Mewusa and Saewa — tabled on May 20.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola on Monday said the employer associations that signed the wage deal included the Plastics Convertors Association of SA (PCASA); Cape Engineers and Founders Association (CEFA); KwaZulu-Natal Engineering Industries Association (KZNEIA); Light Engineering Industries Association (LEIA) and the National Employers’ Association of SA (NEASA).
Speaking to Business Day recently, PCASA CEO Natalie van Vreden said the three-year duration would ensure “stability and sustainability within the plastics industry for employers and employees”. The association is the largest representative body of employers registered with the Metals Engineering Industries Bargaining Council. It boasts a membership of about 230 employers who collectively employ more than 33,000 staff, she said.
“We think that we have been able to secure a settlement in the best interest for workers. It is a victory for plastic workers. It has been very difficult to handle negotiations in the past because we experienced major challenges,” Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said.
Numsa initially demanded a one-year 10% wage increase across-the-board, prompting employers to table a 0% wage increase, forcing both parties to go back to the drawing board and revise their positions.
At the time, Numsa bemoaned a 0% increase saying employers were completely disregarding the cost of living and how it affected workers. “If implemented, it would be like a long stand-still agreement. It also means that workers will be expected to survive on their meagre earnings, for a long period of time, with no change. This is blatantly unfair.”
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